Calgary Mortgage News

OTTAWA -- Steep housing price increases in six of Canada's hottest real estate markets since 2002 have all the hallmarks of an "accident waiting to happen" if mortgage rates rise too sharply, warns a new report.

CALGARY - The average MLS sale price for single-family homes in the city for the past 30 days is $451,807, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.

Five of Canada's major banks reduced many of their posted mortgage rates by one-tenth of a percentage point, effective today.

The Canadian Real Estate Association has revised its 2010 forecast for existing home sales, projecting housing activity will be roughly six per cent lower than its previous estimate.

Calgary house prices remained strong in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2009, but they are expected to decrease slightly over the remainder of the year, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released today.

The Real Estate Investment Network's report said that Calgary experienced one of its best economic and real estate periods in Canadian history a couple of years ago but then entered a strong, and needed correction.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is raising its target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of one percentage point to 1/2 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly raised to 3/4 per cent and the deposit rate is kept at 1/4 per cent, thus re-establishing the normal operating band of 50 basis points for the overnight rate.

Calgary is the only Canadian major metropolitan area where house prices remain below their peak level, according to a report released today by Teranet-National Bank.

OTTAWA -The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/4 per cent. The Bank Rate is unchanged at 1/2 per cent and the deposit rate is 1/4 per cent.

Given that the total mortgages outstanding in Canada amount to around $1-trillion today, the subprime portion is not a huge slice.

But the vast majority were made toward the middle of the decade with terms of three and five years and they're coming due over the next two years.